Thursday, September 17, 2009

Dragon*Con Academics was GREAT this year. We did 8 panels with high attendance, great presentations, and rousing discussions. Now's the time to push for an expansion of academic programming at Dragon*Con! The way to do this is to let the Dragon*Con office know how much support there is for academic programming and an academic conference at the convention. I'm aiming for the stars, hoping to get a full academic track at the convention.

To see the panels we've done in the last two years, you can visit these links:

What I'm asking from you is to contact the office and let them know how you feel. There are three ways to do this. You can email them at dragoncon@dragoncon.org. You can fill out the webform at:

http://dragoncon.org/dc_contact.php

Or you can call the office at 770-909-0115 (M-F 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST).

Below I've provided the beginning of a message. You can edit it, mix and match your reasons, and (this is crucial!) provide some detail about your own experience.

Thanks for your support! Tell your friends!

Best, Matt

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Subject: Track Request: Academics

Dear Dragon*Con Office,

I'm writing to request the creation of an academic track at Dragon*Con. I [[attended / participated in / wish I could have been at]] the academic conference organized by Matt Brown at Dragon*Con in [[2008 / 2009]], and I am very much in support of expanding it. The attendance has been very high, the presentations have been interesting and informative, and have lead to lively discussions.

While the ordinary, informal fan discussions at Dragon*Con can be fun and informative, these panels really bring something extra to my Dragon*Con in terms of the amount of work that has gone into the panel, and the type of intellectually stimulating discussion that results.

It would really help to have the academic panels be more officially organized, so they would be easier to find and in a more consistent space as well.

It seems like making an academic track would allow a wider variety of academic presentations. Right now, it seems to be limited by what tracks have space open.

We're not only ready for a higher level of intellectual discussion at Dragon*Con. We need it!

I've also heard that Matt Brown is willing to continue to organize academic presentations at Dragon*Con. [[I'd also be willing to help out by presenting / volunteering at the Con / helping with organization / attending the panels.]]